


Night Lights

by dontmindme_imafangirl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Garrison trio, Gen, Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, M/M, Minor Hunk/Lance (Voltron), Roadtrip, all of the fluff, just fluff, like that its so fluffy I'm gonna die gif thats how fluffy it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-05 11:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12794028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontmindme_imafangirl/pseuds/dontmindme_imafangirl
Summary: Tumblr prompt:  what about a Hance or garrison trio roadtrip AU?If Lance had to say, he'd honestly admit neither he, Pidge, nor Hunk were morning people.That, however, doesn't mean they won't find opportunity in an early morning and clear skies.





	Night Lights

******

Are there really any words to describe it?

That feeling-it’s when you’re driving down stretches of highways, flowing miles long and the sun is beating mercilessly down to the street, your car feels warmer, there’s music playing from the radio blasted loud and your friends are singing along louder than the singer, and it’d be annoying were it not for the sheer joy in their voices, the sound a melody that carries through the open windows, wind tussling your hair in all possible directions and you could nag about it but the breeze is so welcoming and soothing;

Have you felt that?  
Do you have a name for this feeling?

Lance isn’t certain.  
He’s not certain he even wants to put a name to it in the first place.

He looks to the back seat, Pidge with her hair tied into messy pigtails, her jean overalls a size too big and sitting cross legged with a game in hand, humming along to the music.

He turns to look to the drivers seat, the smile plastered on his lips spreading further.

Hunk, his usual bandana abandoned for a sunhat, his hands on the steering wheel and his mouth forming the lyrics of the song, the sun reflecting in his eyes making them melt like liquid ambers;

Lance changed his mind.  
There is a name for this feeling.

It’s called love.

Deciding to go on a roadtip was less of well, a decision, and more of an impulse really.

They woke up on Friday, at eight o’clock sharp, their yawns and mumbled good mornings the only sounds heard in their shared apartment.

Hunk was too busy leaning his weight onto Lance, the only one to be considered remotely a morning person out of the three, his chin resting atop Lance’s head as he made them all some coffee, humming along to whatever song had stuck to his brain the night before.

It wasn’t until Pidge-yes, _Pidge_ , the one person whose rumoured to break your wi-fi router if you so much as look at her in the morning, came running to the two with a wide grin, waving her phone around.

“Classes were cancelled! For the entire _day_!” she gleamed, nearly glowing with excitement.

Hunk joined in, jumping off of Lance and towards Pidge, both of them excited for the prospects of doing absolutely nothing, but also too excited to sleep.

So Lance shrugged and suggested it-why not go on a trip? They could go outside of town, maybe stop by the beach, that amusement park in the next city, and come back tomorrow morning, either stay at a motel for the night or pull an all-nighter driving back.

He genially didn’t expect either of them to agree.

He _definitely_ didn’t expect them to squeal with joy, their eyes so wide and giggles so loud he couldn’t help but shake his head with a laugh, and head back to his room to pack up a bag and get through his morning routine.

By nine they were standing in front of Hunk’s car, an older yellow fiat that had definitely seen some better days, but was well preserved with ‘love care and frequent check-ups’, or so Hunk insisted.

By ten they were already in the road, Lance’s arm resting outside the window, sunglasses covering his eyes but not the grin spreading on his mouth, the sheer glee coming from his friends infectious.

Hunk put a hand over the gear shift, letting it rest there before Lance sneaked a hand over his, interlacing their fingers.

Hunk smiled but said nothing, giving Lance a fond look with a quick side glance, one that Lance returned ten-fold.

“You guys are such absolute saps” Pidge teased, no hint of malice in her words.

Surprisingly, it hadn’t been that long since he and Hunk started dating.

They grew up together, they knew they felt something for one another, but it took a few more years and a pep talk from Pidge herself to get them to confess.  
They expected it to be awkward at best, that each skittering touch and gaze would cause their nerves to jump on end.

But that never happened.  
It wasn’t like first crushes, it wasn’t butterflies in your stomach and a knot in your throat.

It was more like two halves that met and got glued together, fitting so perfectly there was never a question wether or not they’ll fit.

Pidge, surprisingly, took it far more well than they expected, what with them all being flatmates and all-she’d make the occasional teasing remark, but other than that, she’d shake her head with a fond look, the same one they came to know she’d give her brother and family, to the people she loved.

Within another hour they reached their first stop, the view of crystal blues and the scent of salt being their tell-tale sign.

Lance all but shoved his upper torso through the window, laughing furiously as Hunk ushered him back in until he found a spot to park.

“The sea! We’re at the sea!” he yelled to the pier ahead of them, to the open skies above him.

The moment Hunk killed the engine Lance was already running out of the car, dashing through the pier and down the steps that lead to the beach, not caring that he had no swimsuit with him or a change of clothes.

He could distantly hear Pidge and Hunk running after him, a mixed chorus of “Lance no” and “Lance I swear to god-“ but he didn’t stop, feet light and carrying him through thigh deep into the sea, shirt and shoes forgotten somewhere along the way, not caring about the fate of the shorts he was wearing.

He was at sea.  
He was _home_.

With arms outstretched he let himself flop down and into the water, the sun warm enough to keep his body from freezing in the cool water-it may have been warm and sunny, but it was still spring after all.

He swam a bit further away, leaving Pidge and Hunk to their own devices, before meeting them back at shore, Hunk rolling up his pants enough to reach knee deep, Pidge alongside him tugging her overalls up and wincing whenever her feet made contact with a rock or seaweed.

They stayed there for a while, mainly waiting for Lance to get dry until Hunk sighed, giving him a spare t-shirt he had brought along ‘in an emergency like this one’-Lance smirked and kissed him, wearing his boyfriends’ shirt with a proud huff.

They grabbed coffee and breakfast at a nearby coffee shop, laughing to the point of tears when the cashier asked Hunk and Lance if ‘it’s okay to give their younger friend caffeine at such an age’, which prompted Pidge to look the cashier straight in the eye and order an iced americano, with triple shots of espresso.  
Lance had never seen such fear in a persons eyes.

Lance took to driving this time, stealing glances at Hunk’s sleepy side, his eyes half-lidded and head resting on the window-the exact opposite of pidge, who three espresso shots later had went through the entirety of the Fire Emblem game she brought with her, and took to talking to Lance about theLoch Ness monster, and how “She’s real Lance. I’ve seen her with my own two eyes. She’s gay and dating a siren. They’re lesbians Lance.”

Their next stop came as a short break for lunch at a diner somewhere in-between cities;

“A liminal space!” Hunk and Pidge exclaimed with bright eyes, and Lance sighed, ready for what was about to be an hourlong of arguing over what a liminal space really was-and refusing to agree with either Hunk’s theory of them being portals to alternate dimensions, nor Pidge’s theory of being disruptions in the time-space continuum that were placed here as safe marks for aliens.

By the time they left the sun was already slowly easing down, not quite bidding the sky goodbye yet.

The sky tinted pink and purple as they drove, the sight of endless expanses of green around the highway, growing trees getting scarcer as they made way to their next destination.

Everything felt more mellow; the music hummed lowly on the radio, their chatter was less, the ice in their drinks stored in the cupholders slowly melting as the ice cubes clinked to one another.

Hunk was asleep in the backseat, Pidge content in just looking to the expanse of road ahead of them, a somber quiet falling between them.

“You know”, she said after a while, voice quiet, “I’m glad we got to do this.”

“The road trip?” Lance asked.

“That too. But just…everything. Meeting, becoming friends…I’m happy we had the chance to do that.”

Lance couldn’t help but smile, turning to face Pidge with the most sincere of expressions.

“So am I. Things wouldn’t be the same without you around Pidge-on” he teased, “I’m glad we’re friends. And I’m glad you’re here” he added, focusing his gaze back on the street.

He didn’t get to see what expression Pidge made.

He didn’t have to, her short laugh giving him the reply he needed.

*****

There’s still some purple hues in the horizon, but for the most part it’s dark, street lamps swirling into life.

Dark, except for the bright neon lights ahead of them, flashing in pulses and the distant sound of screams surrounding them.

Pidge’s face was all but glued onto the window, her palms leaving prints on the glass.

“The amusement park! Look at all those _rides_!” she squealed, feet tapping with excitement.

Lance laughed, looking to Hunk’s terrified expression.

“You’re not planning to-“ Hunk started, promptly interrupted by Pidge.

“I am most definitely planning on going to all the rides” she deadpanned, pointing to a particularly high flashing attraction they could see even as they were parking, “see that? I’m going to that first.”

“Pidge-“

“I do not _care_ what the height requirements for it are Hunk. I’m a girl with a purpose and Mendelian genetics can _fight_ me.”

Neither Hunk nor Lance dared say anything-they were just glad Mendel wasn’t around for Pidge to fight.

*****  
Walking through an amusement park at night, where the lights illuminate the park into a virtual daytime, musics blending and dancing in the air, the scent of cotton candy and popping corn distinct and all-surrounding, there’s a childlike glee growing inside your chest, an innocence that’s laced with fear or, for some, adrenaline as you look to wagons turning upside down, rides that spin so fast you can only hear people’s shrieks, their bodies a blur of speed.

Pidge stopped and looked to each ride, animatedly talking about its mechanics with Hunk, Lance pitching in random sprouts of knowledge when he could.

He walked lazily, hand-in-hand with Hunk, Pidge leading ahead and pointing to each attraction and attempting to enter the more frivolous ones-only to pass by the _‘you need to be this tall to enter’_ signs, and promptly got nudged away by tired-looking employees, her pout growing bigger with each person that apologised and told her she’s not allowed to enter.

Not to say she didn’t sneak by a few-she hid herself between Lance and Hunk and went through the queue for one of those spinning rides, the ones that turn around an axis and around themselves with a speed that’s made for blending milkshakes if you ask Hunk.

She walked away from it stumbling with dizziness, but with the biggest, most mischievous grin on her lips.

Mid-walk she stopped, an eyebrow raising as she turned to face her two friends.

“So…Lance…I remember you bragging about how brave and how much of a realist you are…” she started, her face feigning innocence as she swung back and forth on her feet.

Lance gulped but nodded, not liking the direction this was going.

“So if I say…ask you to go with me to _that_ ” she nodded to what Lance now distinctly recognised as a haunted horror house, “you couldn’t possibly say _no_ now could you?”

Hunk made a small ‘ooh’ sound from besides Lance, shrugging innocently when Lance threw a glare his way.

“Yeah, I’m not going in there”, Hunk shrugged, “but you guys have fun! I’ll go grab us some sodas until you finish.”

With one quick step to the side Hunk was gone, leaving Lance to his own devices.

Pidge raised an eyebrow, looking to Lance with a coy smirk.

“What’s it gonna be, _brave sharpshooter_?”

“You tiny devil.”

Pidge shrugged.

“That’s an accurate description. Now are you coming or?”

Lance knew he’d live to regret this. But he was not about to get his pride wounded over a horror house, thank you very much, and if he had to walk through dark corridors with random things creeping up to spook him to prove he was the brave sharpshooter he insisted he was, then so be it.

*****

Turns out Lance is afraid of the dark.  
And spiders.  
And small narrow rooms.

And Pidge.  
Lance is _terrified_ of Pidge.

Hunk hugged him after, patting his back apologetically.  
He tried not to let Lance know that he could hear his screams all the way outside the attraction.

*****

By now it’s somewhere past midnight.

Pidge’s asleep, curled up in the back of the car, Hunk and Lance content with taking a short driving break to a side of the street that led to an eventual dead-end, looking down to the sea and the stars above, further away from the bright city lights.

There’s an endless amount of blinking lights, and Lance points to each bright star, naming the constellations and his favourite of the stars, back laying on the hood of the car, Hunk leaning besides him, hands clasped together.

There’s starlight in their eyes and cotton candy on their lips, both of them content in simply being there in that moment, letting the day’s excitement wane down into a happy memory, wearing tired happy smiles and clothes drenched in sweat and sea water, their feet heavy but hearts settled.

It’s a good day, Lance figures, and a good night.

And there’s a name to this feeling, the one that’s been cradled in his heart for so long.

It’s called joy.  
Sheer, indescribable joy.

*******

**Author's Note:**

> don't we all wake up everyday wishing our classes were cancelled to just nope all the way back to sleep,,,TuT
> 
> this was such a cute prompt i loved writing it <3 i love garrison trio a lot and Hance so yea i couldn't not add both lol
> 
> if you want to send in any other prompts, talk about how the galaxy is pan or just say hi, my tumblr's dontmindme-imafangirl.tumlr.com (id hyperlink it,,if only i knew how ;u;")


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